Machine for evening and grading cut soles and the like.



E. P. 1110mm FOR EVENING AND GRADING OUT SOLES AND THE LiKEa I APPLICATION FILED AUG. 23, 1912.

1;, 3.; Patented Mar. 2, i915 e SHEETS-SHEET 1.

M05563. -JvI/67fl26r:

- v 4 W jj eril M6926) I E. P. NICHOLS. MACHINE FOB. EVENING AND GRADING GUT SOLES AND THE LIKE.

, APPLICATION FILED AUG. 23, 1912.

Patented Mar. 2, 1915..

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.v

y 4' m 9 R Q JJ v N E. P. NICHOLS. MACHINE FOR EVENING AND GRADING GUT SOLES AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 23, .1912 1,1 30,321. Patented Mar. 2, 915.

' 4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

Z /Z 4 i 22 I I E W m m u u 1' v :1; 3 n W a, a wfil/l 5 m H Mo w Z 6mn .b 5 4 2 0 I w 2 W Z 7 M M 4 0 W M BHP. NICHOLS. MACHINE FOR EVENING. AND GRADING CUT'SOLES AND THE LIKB.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.23, 1912. 1,1 80,321. Patented 1915 4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

UNIT 4 sraras earner carton.

ELMER P. NICI-ZCLS, OF MANGHESTER, NE? HAMPSHIRF ASSIGNOR "iQ L-ACENE MANU- FACTURING COMPANY, OF'MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

MACHINE FOE EVENING AND GRADING CUT SOLES AND THE LIKE.

Specification of Letters Patent. .Patented Rial. 2, 1153115,

. Application filed August 2 3, 1912. Serial No. 716,776.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELMER P. NICHOLS, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Manchester, county of Hillsbo ro,; State of New Hampshire, have invented an Improve ment in Machines for Evening and Grading Cut Soles and the like, of which the following description, in'connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts. v

My inventionis an improvement relating tothat type of machines whose purpose, use and general construction are set forth at length in my Reissue Patent No. 12,288, dated November '22, 1904s, and later Patents Nos. 85,809, dated January 2:2, 1907,

1,009,988, dated November 28, 1911, 1,016,213, dated December 3, 1912, and 1,057,358, dated Mar. 25, 1913, my present invention relating more particularly to that form and arrangement of the mechanism contained in my copending application Se rial No. 507,728, filed July 15, 1909, now

Y Patent N 1,058,623, dated April 8, 1913.

One of the main objects of this invention is to facilitate the output of the machine and make it more independent of the skill of the operator. I'leretofore' these machines have required considerable attention onthe part of the operator in feeding the stock into-the machine (so as to get it properly centered or positioned) and in distributing the stock when taking it from the machine (the operator being obliged to look at the grade-mark on each piece in order to place it with the others of its gra'del. In my present machine I have succeeded in eliminating these two principal sources of delay, the first being eliminated bvprovidingan automatic centering or positioning device at the ingoing end of. the machine, and the second being eliminated by providing, in connection with the grading mechanism, a

visual indicator for indicating the grade to through the machine, 2'. e. betweenz the rolls or receiving and feeler devices, in the same line, i. 6., as herein shown, through the center of the machine. But as these pieces are crooked more or less, the ordinary guides such as shown in my application last mentioned do not serve properly to center the stock. In order therefore, to accomplish the proper centering of the material withiout requiring any particular skill on the part of the operator, so that an unskilled operator can readily run theflmachine, I provide means for automatically centering a crooked 'sole or any other piece of stock which requires one portion thereof to be shifted into central position with reference to another portion of the same piece, so that it shall be in said desired central position line of the forepart of the sole or of any desired portion of it will coincide with the longitudinal center of the machine, 2'. e. the

line half-way between the feelersor detector posts as-the sole is fed into the machine, and then to open for the reception of the ball of the sole and thereby guide and maintain said ball portion also centrally of themachine as it follows alongbehind the heel portion which has already been fed to the feeler mechanism. Inorder that these guards or guides or automatic centering demount them independently of each other, in order that they may yield-to the requirements of such :crooked shapes as are pre means specially adapting the machine-t0 operate in connection with block soles having a Wide heel, as Will be pointed out more at length in, connection with the detailed explanation of the mechanism.

A further obiect of that feature oi" Zmy invention-which is set forth above is to make .it practicable to hollow out. the rolls Wider (more nearly equal to the width of the shank,) my present'improvement mak- 90 vices may be adaptedto crooked shapes, I

ing it possible to hollow the rolls wider than before. This gives more delicacy of feeling or grading measurement as the hollowed-out part is thereby permitted to be much widen than would otherwise be the case, so that the middle part of the sole is more certain not to engage therolls and influence the grading (which should be with reference to against the leather at its opposite edges' By having one spring the detector mecha-' nism, herein shown as a roll, is enabled to rock or tilt lengthwise easier and its operation is not so stiff, but is more flexible-and responsive. This mechanism gives more delinew of touch orfeeler engagement against the leather with less tension and with less danger of compressing the leather,besides various other advantages over my previous construction of said copending application, all of which will be more fully pointed out in thedetailed description. Also at the outgoing'end of the machine my invention provides special grade -marking mechanism. Means is provided for marking not only the thickness but the size as to length and Width.

erator, so that the machine will mark simply the thickness automatically without marking the size. 1-

Various other features of improvement in connection with the marking device will appear from the detailed description.

In the drawings, in which I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of a machine containing my various improvements Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of the left hand side of the machine; Fig. 2 is a'top plan view thereof partly broken away; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view mainly in front elevation of the positioning devices; Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional View showing the feeler mechanism viewed from the rear; Fig. 5 is a plan view of a crooked block sole; Fig. 6 is a detail in front elevation (parts being broken away for clearness of illustration) of the visual indicating and grade marking device; Fig. 7 is a vertical transverse section through the marking mechanism looking at the inner end of the lifting cam; and Fig. 8 is a transverse vertical sectional view showing the marking mechanism in front elevation.

Many of the features of my invention are Well known in this art because of mv pro-- vious patented machines for accomplishing the same general purpose and therefore it Preferably also, the latter marking means is arranged to be v- 35 rendered inoperative at the will of the opma am 4 on the free end of an arm or lever 5 ,pro-

jecting rearwardlyfrom a rock shaft 6 havmg at 1ts outer end-an arm 7 to which-is pivoted a rod 8 carrying an adjustable stop weightQ said rod 8 releases a pawl 10 on whose rear end 11 it'normally rests. A. spring 12 immediately causes this pawl to engage the thinness-measuring teeth 13 of a ratchet wheel 14 fastened on aoshaft 15 on which is loosely mounted a segmental racklG in engagement with the correspondingly'toothed end of a lever 17 normally held together or toward each other by a spring 18 and pivoted at 19 to the'frame of the machine to transmit the movement of the feeler roll. The gear or rack 16 is in position to strike against a crank or bracket 20 fixed on said shaft 15 the latter also carrying a segmental rack or gear 21 meshing with a rack 22, mounted to reciprocate longitudinally of the machine. Meshing with the rear end of said rack is a pinion 23 fast on the lower end of a shaft 24 which carries at its upper end a pinion 25 meshing with a rack bar 26 which carries adjusting wedges 27 for limiting the vertical movement of the gage rolls 28. Pivoted to the outer end of said rack bar 26 is an operating link which is pivoted at 80 to the actuating ver 31 of the marking mechanism, This ver 31 has a segmental rack 32 at its lower edge meshing with a pinion 33 on the forward end of the marking disk shaft The timing of thestock feeding is con trolled by a gate 35 pivoted at 36. and normally held up by the stock until the following end of the latter has passed into the machine and out from under said gate, where upon'the gate falls and thereby actuates a locking pawl 37 to the rear end 38 of which it is connected by a link 39. When the gate falls this pawl 37 engages the locking teeth- 40 of the ratchet wheel 14 to lock the latter in opposition to the pawl 10 and teeth 13 against further measuring movement. When the stock has been graded and has escaped from the machine said gate is restored to raised position by a lifting'rod 41 whose upper end engages beneath an arm 42 fast on the pivot 36 of the gate 35, said rod being normally held under a forward swinging tendency by a Spring 43 as limited by a stop 44 and the restraint of an arm 45 fast on the outer end of the pivot 19 of the transmission lever 17 previously mentioned, said arm 45 having at its free end a pin 46 projecting against the right hand edge of said rod 41, Fig".- 1. The rod 41 is pivoted at its lower end at 47 to a bar 48 pivoted intermediate its ends at 49 to the frame of the machine and connected bya rod 5'0 and Thus when the strap 51 to gage roll 28. gage roll is raised by a piece of stock the forward end of the bar 48 is thereby lowered 42, and then, when the piece of stock escapes" from beneath the gage roll 28 the falling of the latter instantly raises the front end of the bar 48 and, through the lifting of the rod. 41 lifts the arm 42 and therefore the gate 35 to permit the feeding into the machine of another piece of stock. Pivotallyconnected at 52 to the bar 48 by a link 53 is a dog 5 1 shown in Fig. 1 as engaging the latch 55 of a cam plate 56 pivoted at 57 to a fixed part of the machine. The cam plate 56, when in the position Fig. 1, holds in inoperative position the clutch gear 58 that starts the grade marking mechanism, and

when swung to-the right by the dog 5 1 releases the clutch so as to permit the latter to be driven by a gear '59 (which also drives the gear 60 on the adjacent end of the gage roll shaft 28) and when thus driven, said clutch gear actuates the train of pinions 61, 62, 63, which rotate the cam shaft 64 of the lifter cam or dropping means 65 (Figs. 7 and 8). The upper end of the latch 55 is laterally deflected at 66 to overhang the adjacent end of a tripping lever 67, whose opposite end is tripped by a pin or projecting tripping roll 68 of the pinion 63, whereby the latch 55 is raised in-opposition to its spring69 as each grade marking operation takes place, thereby permitting the cam plate 56 to ,be swung instantly back by a spring 7 0 to the position shown in Fig. 1, so as to render the clutch, and hence the grade operating mechanism, again inoperative.

The foregoing mechanism is the same in certain of my previous machines, as for instance, those of applications Serial Nos. 418,008, filed February 27, 1908,'now Patent No. 1.057358, and 507,728, filed July 15, 1909, now Patent No. 1,058,623, and is not herein claimed perse, so that I refer to said other applications for further details and description thereof.

-The cam lifter 65 engages a wear plate or lifter block or plunger 71 fast on the mark-' ing head or marker carrier 72, held under constant tendency to move downward by the heavy pressure of an arm 73 pivoted at 74 on an adjacent stationary portion of the frame ofthe machine and engaged by a torsion spring 75 The combination of this torsion spring with the marker is new and claimed in'this application, as thereby I am enabled to get a much more uniform and evenly adjusted and adjustable operation of the marking apparatus and a larger range and variety of adjustmentsas compared with the more or less harshspring operation of my. previous marking mechanisms. At, itslowerend thehead 72 carries the marking shaft 3 1 ofthe automatic'marking disk:

or die 76, which is therefore'movable up and down with said head. Adjacent said automatic marking wheel (which marks the thinness'measurements) is a size wheel or die 7 7 for marking either the length or width or both simultaneously with the marking of the grade orirons which indicate the proper thickness of the sole asdetermined by the automatic measuring mechanism. Between the size wheel and thickness wheel, e. the

two dies just mentioned, is a plate 78 to retain the size wheel. The latter is slabbed off or made shallow at a: on one face, so that it may be turned by the operator to an iraperative position whenever it is desired to render the same inoperative and mark the soles only with the thickness die 76. The size wheel or die 7 7 is provided with aseries of depressions or dwells 79 normally engaged by a yielding locking ball 80 held therein by a spring 81, for holding the wheel in whatever position it is turned by the operator. The. plate 78 is placed opposite the locking device 80, 81 to hold the wheel 77 with proper resistance and also aids in preventing said wheel from being accidentally dis turbed or turned by frictional engagement with wheel 76. When a batch of soles of any given length and width is being yrun through the machine, the operator turns this size wheel tomark said length and width and it continues to'mark the same while the said die wheel 76' is markingthe thickness as long as said 'srbateh of soles is being run through themachine. As the thickness die wheel 76 is fast on the. shaft 34 and the size die Wheel 77 is mounted independently of said shaft andis held by the locking device 80, the result is that althoughboth dies mark each sole,one die'turns freely in responseto ving'under the control of the operator, ren" ders it possible for the machine to continue to mark a large number of soleswith one.

and the same size mark, while continually varying the thickness mark. The lifter block 71, or plunger which cotiperates with the lifter cam 65 is mounted in a closed recess 82 in the head or marker carrier 72, which constitutes a housing andalso braces said block, so as to render the mechanism stifi'er as compared with my previous mechanisms. This construction is also less expensive inmaterial and labor and contains a less-number-of. parts than heretofore. Pivoted at 83 on the upper end of the head 72 is an indicator arm 84 which extends downwardly below the pivot in the form of a lever 85, and is connected to a. portion of the swinging mechanism herein shown as connected to the pivot 30. This arm has an in dex finger 86 adapted to swing over a graduated plate "8 7 fixed on the outer endofa bracket or arm 88, which extends upwardly from said head 72 and moves up and down therewith. This plate 87 is graduated to correspond to the measurements and graduations of the thickness die wheel 76, and the proportions of the lever members 84:, 85 are such .that the index finger 8 6 is caused to move. to the same index or indication of thickness as-the die Wheel 76, and hence, when the gaging mechanism has adjusted the grade marking mechanism to mark a given piece of stock, it has also adjusted the visual indicator or index 86 to indicate the same grade. By having the lever 84 extend upwardly a considerable distance and the pivot 83 only a short distance from the pivot of the die actuator arm 31, the index finger 86 is given a wide amplitude of movement as compared with that of the die wheel, or. in other words, the visual indications are magnified, to enable the operator readily and in-.

stantly to see the same while the machine is running at high speed. ll have found this feature of very decided value in increasing the output of these machines, inasmuch as it enables the operator, standing asusual at the right hand side of the machine, to distribute the soles with the right hand as rapidly as the machine can be run, and yet to distribute them accurately, while feeding soles into the machine at the same time with the left hand. Cooperating to this same end, e. the increase of speed. and accuracy of the -machine and facilitating the automatic character'thereof, so as to permit it to be run practicably with unskilled operators, is the provision of an automatic positioning mechanism at the feeding-in end of the machine, as best shown in Figs. 1, 2, and3. I provide relatively long guides 89, 90, preferably pivoted back of their middle at 91 and extending thence forward y as close as practicable to the rolls 2, These guides are pivoted on blocks 92, arranged to slide in Ways 93 and adjustable by a right and left threaded adjusting rod 94 and handwheel 95.

Suitable stop means for limiting the swinging movement of the guides on the blocks is provided,.holes Q3 being herein shown as one convenient means for accomplishing this purpose. in which are removably mounted pins 97 for bearing against the adjacent oblique edge of wings or abutments 98 projecting outwardly from the guides. Springs 99 secured at one end to the outermost ends of the guides and at the other end to the supporting blocks. serve to hold the guides yieldingly in, the adiustment determined by said stop pins 97. The purpose of this guide mechanism. is to relieve the operator of the necessity of directing the stock centrally as heretofore requiredand which has called for some skill. All this is now done automatically by these guides which properly center the stock or direct the successive pieces of leather between the rolls'in the same line, i. 6. through the center. In handling crooked soles, if the center of the heel were entered at the middle of the rolls 2, 3 or in alinement with the center of the machine, the rest of the sole would not pass through the machine 1n proper relation to the feeler mechanism because the heel portion of a crooked sole is this reason the guards 89, 90 are made independently adjustable so that they may be so adjusted as to position the heel end of the sole to the right or left of the center of the machine (according as the sole is a left or right) while yet making the ball lie so that its longitudinal middle coincides with the longitudinal center of the machine. The usual shape of crooked soles requires that the middle of the forepart adjacent the toe shall pass beneath the feelers along the cen-- tcr line of the machine, a. 6. equally distant from the two feeler posts, but some shapes of crooked soles require a variation from this position. F or instance, a peaked toe sole, or a sole having a great deal of swing to it requires a different adjustment in order that the two longitudinal edges of the forepart shall pass beneath the respective feeler posts with a similar average relation of each edge to its post, and my object is to provide a construction of sole-positioning mechanism which will permit all'adjustments for all these purposes. As theball of the sole in any case is always wider than the heel, the guides or guards 89, 90 are first adjusted by the hand wheel'95 to the width ofthe soles at the ball. The guides or guards close first toward each other under the infiuence ,of the springs 99, so far as permitted by the stop pins, and hence are in position to engage against the heel as the have its opposite edges in substantially similar relationto the feelers or posts 105. F or example, referring to Fig. 2," when the operator desires to feed into the machine a lot of soles having the size and shape shown in dotted lines in said figure, he first takes one of the soles and places its ball, between the two guides and then adjuststhem toward each other until theyloosely embrace said ball. He then .places the sole so that its heel end is between the forward ends of the guides and adjacent the bight' of the two rolls 2, 3, and, while he holds the sole' in the proper position so that, when its forepart would pass through the machine, its opposite edges would pass in proper similar relation tothe two feeler posts 105, headjusts the guide 90 until its forward end bears he adjusts the guide 8950 that its forward end bears against the adjacent edge of the sole, said adjustment of the guide 80 being likewise indicated by'full lines in said Fig. This adjustment of the two guides. may

bring them into similar angular positions or it may bring them into very dissimilar an gular positions, according to the particular kind of crooked sole which is to be positioned Their angular position, or in other words the position of their forward-ends toward or from the-central longitudinal line of the machine, is solely'forthe purpose of insuring that the forward-feeding end of the sole,2'. e. the heel end, shall enter between the rolls 2, 3 at such a point as will compel the rear part of the sole, 2'. e. the forepart which is following through the -machine, to

' enter between the rolls 2, 3 with its opposite edges similarly located with reference to their respective feelerposts 105. This entering position of the heel end may happen to be along the longitudinal center of the ma- .chineor slightly at one side or considerably at one side, all depending upon the particular pattern of crooked solebeing graded at the moment. Then, as the rolls pull the stock forward into the machine, the guides ""89, 00 open for the ballvof the sole, as is shown clearly in Fig. 2, in which illustration the guide 90 had to swing considerably .(in fact to the dotted position), because of the large bend of the sole on that side, and the guide 89 had toswing only slightly (to the extent indicated by the dotted part of, the ball of the sole so far as it is shown overlapping said guide 89 in said Fig. 2. The separate adjustments provided by the pins and holes 96, 97 are for accomplishing the adjustments of the ides for different sizes. Stops (holes and pins, for instance) are prorided at 100 for crooked block soles having a wide heel-end, as shown at 101.1? ig. 5, to prevent the guides frOmshifting over the long edge 102 of the heel too far. The stops at 100 permit the setting of one or the other of the forward ends of theguides 7 89,- H

90 outward so as not to interfere with the corner 102 when s'uchsoles are brought'at the actual center line (indicated 'at 1 03 Fig.

5) into line withthe lengthwise-centerof the rolls 2,3; In other words, the stops at 100 prevent the guides from shifting sucha sole so'farthat the center. of its shank would be out of line with the center of the machine, as would otherwise be the case because of the long edge or corner 102 of'the heel-end of such a sole. For example, if the sole shown in Fig. '5 were to be fed. into the machine in the position shown in Fig.v

coincide with the center line of the machine in order to bring the opposite edges of the forepart in proper similar relation to their respective feeler posts. 'Having adjusted the guide 90 to the'po'sition shown in dotted r lines, theother guide 89 would be adjusted so as to swingits forward endinwardly toward the sole until it would approximately touch the aforesaid shorter corner of the heel end of the sole, Fig.5. Inthisposi tion the twoguides 90' a'nd.89 would compel the crooked sole 101 ofF 5 to enterthe machine in such a position that'it s. i-maginary line'103 would coincide with the 1ongi-. tudinal center line of the machine and there fore the .forepart of said sole w'ould.,-becorrectly felt of by the feelers and hncezproperly graded. "Of course, as the sole 101 would be pulled by the rolls2, 3 "forward in thedet-ecting operation, the guide 89-would, be compelled'to swing on'its pivot altar of the way of the forwardly,m0ving bulging edge of'the forepart of said sole in 'order to permit said sole tobe thus properlyfelt of and graded. As already stated, the provision of this automatic centering means for theworlrmakes it possible. to hollow the rolls 2, 3 of the sole, .;e. tohollowthe roll wider, so that the hollow will span 'a'" larger proportion of the width'each side'jof the long'itudinal center, the result beingthat the feeling of the soles at their edges is made much more delicate andaccurate than when this hollowing of therolls had to be exceedingly narrow,,as heretofore. I

On account of the great expense of sole leather, and also becauseit is desirableto retain all the weight possible of the leather and likewise to have the body of thesole retain as much as possible of its original fullness or;thickness and thereby'increase its wear, it-is desirable-that the rolls 2, 3 shall i operate as little as possible on the body or longitudinal middle portion of the, sole and .shall be confined to the edges, this possibili y, of course, being necessarily limited by the narrow shank portion of the sole. But in my previous machines, as the guides which were provided for directing the soles alonglthe desired central path or longitudinal middle of the machine had to be set far enough apart to permit the entrance of the widest-soles being fed, it will be apparent that the narrower soles were liable to get ,shiftedto one side or the other of said central path, thereby necessitating making the hollow of the roll unduly narrow, lest, if wider, such narrow soles, when accidentally shifted from the true central path, would permit one or the other of their edges to drop into-the hollow of the roll and hencegive a false detection and be spoiled. All this has been obviated by my present invention, so that the hollow can be given-its desired extreme width, because the automatic positioning mechanism insures that the sole will be shifted automatically into the true central path so that the approximate longi-' tudinal center of the body of the sole will coincide With the longitudinal center of the machine and middle'of the hollow of the roll as the sole is fed into the machine and is having its edge-thickness determined. For example,- if the operator should place a sole out of line, 2'. e. atone side or the other of 7 said central path, the guides 89, 90 would shift it backinto correct position so that there would be no danger of either edge of the narrow shank portion getting so close to.

the longitudinal middle of the machine that the hollow of the roll would drop over the edge and give a false movement. automatic centeringor stock-shifting mechanism prevents the accidental misplacement ,to one side orv the other of the sole, the result is that the roll-hollow can be wider with safety than it could be otherwise. I

Referring to Fig. 4 Where the feeler mechanism proper is shown in more .detail, it will be seen that the feeler roll 3 is carried by a bridge or yoke 10$ to which are'pivoted feeler posts or detectors 105, the pivot pins being adjustable toward and from each other in holes 106 at "their upper ends (slots'107 being provided, for permitting :1 corresponding movement of said posts at their lower ends in the transmission lever 17 and having lengthwise adjustment attheir lower endsby threaded nu ts 108. A spring 109.

- engaging, at'it-s upper end the yoke 101 and engaglng'at its-lowerend a block 110 ad-,

justable by a bolt 111 in the transmission lever l'i'serves to maintain saidyoke and lever yieldingly separated. By having this spring mounted to exert its entire resistance directly between the.feeler roll 3 and the transmission lever, the tension is absolutely As the uniform as the entire spring moves with said parts as distinguished from the spring, for instance, of my applications before mentioned, which was secured at one end to the frame of the machine'and hence varied in tension as the transmission, lever moved toward or from the frame in response to varyan extent corresponding to thewhole movement of the transmission lever. The independent yielding of the opposite ends of the feeler roll 3, or the capacity for independent vertical movement of said feeler roll, as required by variations in thickness of the opposite edges of a piece of stock being felt of or measured by the feelermechanism, is secured by one spring so mounted as'to give extreme delicacy. This spring is shown at 112 having threaded adjustment at its opposite ends at 113 in the depending free ends of elbow levers 114,v whose gudgeons or pivots 115 are loosely or removably mounted in the upwardly opening bearings 116, and whose inner'arc shaped or curved ends 117 bear on the under surface and adjacent the opposite ends of the bridge or yoke 10%. Thus the pressure exerted by the single spring 112 is uniformly exerted at the opposite ends of the feeler roll 3, and in such a manner that said roll rocks or tilts at one end or theother with equal facility, and with extreme case and responsiveness, inasmuch asa downward movement, for instance, of one end and an upward movement of the other end of the roll 3, does not change the pressure of the roll on the stock in the slightest, inasmuch as these movements are compensated by the connected mounting of flexible and eliminates the stiffness of the,

construction in my previous machines, se-

cures more delicacy on the leather with less tension, and there is less danger of compressing the stock. Also it eliminates the tendency of the springs to cramp themselves and to cause the .feeler posts to bind. in their sockets and in the transmission lever as in'the machine of my application Serial No. 507,728 (on which-this is a direct improvement, as already stated). levers may be readily lifted-out from their sockets or bearings 116 in case of repair, inspection or adjustment.

The same adjustment for the upper roll 2 is provided as in my applications mentioned, consisting'of a rotary hand rod 118 provided with worms 119 meshing with the Worm The wheel heads 120 of adjusting bolts 121 engagingthe bearings 122 of said roll. The

rolls 2, 3 1 are provided with intermeshing drivinggears 123,124, the former receiving its impulse from a train of-gearing 125, 126,

l 127, 128, 129, the latter being the power' shaft of the machine. A gear130 onthe shaft 129 meshes with the pinion 59" which drives the gear 60 and gage roll 28, and the under roll 131 is driven bya gear 132 engaging the gear 128. An auxiliary settingmeans for short stock is shown at 133 corresponding to the trip 137 of my application Serial No. 507,728 (and therein claimed).

The general operation of my present machine is the same as in the original machine (of .Serial No. 18,008 and Serial No.

507 ,7 28) to which the present improvements have been applied, and therefore need not be set forth in detail. One of the principal objects and advantages of my present inven-" tion is that thereby the operator can standv at the side .of the machine (the right hand side, 2'. e. behind the machine Fig. 1, or at the;

right of Fig. 2) and simply feed in the soles with the left handas fast as the machine will take them, and remove the soles with the right hand, without ,any. dangerof getting the soles in wrong and without any liability of mistaking the grade mark.-{ This is .be-L cause the guides or automatic positioners 89,

attend automatically to the proper cen tering and positioning of the soles at the ingoing. end of the machine, .so that no skill or attention is required on the part of the operator, and because the automatic visual indicator 86, etc at the outgoing end of the grade mark thereon is, and. hence the machinecan be runat its highest speed and a single operator may-be confidently depended upon to attend to both the feedingin and the simultaneous distributing'of the soles, even though he be an ordinary unskilled operator. hen the sole is first inserted in the machine, the forward ends of the wings or positioners 89,, 90 are held in position toward each hther by their springs 99, so that thereby the heel-end of the sole is caused toengage the rolls 2, 3 at such a point as'w'ill insure that the opposite edges of the forepart, when the forepart of the solehas arrived"between said rolls, shall respectively beapproximately over the posts- .105, and as said rolls 2, 3 pull the sole positively forward the positioners 89, 90 yield sufiiciently to permit the wider ball portion of the sole to enter. For different kinds of work andvarying sizes of crooked soles, for example, the positioners 89, 90 are shifted toward or from each other, as the case may require, by turning the hand wheel 95, so as to move. the slide blocks 92 correspondingly in their ways 93, and for different shapes the pins 97 may be shifted so as to vary the normal angular positions of the guides 89, 90 with relation to each other. Whenspecial block soles with wide heels are tobe graded,

such as shown in Fig. 5, stopsat ,1'00are used at one side or the other according as right or left soles are being run through the machine, so as to prevent the adjacent guide from shifting the long edge of the heel over too. far, which would move the sole beyond the center of the shank. This automatic centering feature of my inventionmakes it possible to hollow out the rollsfor a wider region at the center of the rolls, thereby minimizing the liability of engaging the .sole

appreciably, back from its edges. Hence the rolls feel of the edges of the soles with extreme accuracy. 1

of the roll 3 toward the roll 2, As theme 3 moves up and down in,,response to the As the sole enters the machine andstrikes' the trip 4, it thereby releases the pawl 10 so as to permit the latter to engagethe teeth 13 of the ratchet wheel 14: and.-thereafter take up each successive increment of thinness measurement detected by the approach variations in thieknessof the sole being felt l of, the spring 109 holds the transmission lever 17 under uniform tensionaway from said. roll, irrespective of the swinging move ment of the transmission lever, and the spring 112, operated through thebalanced levers 11 1 maintainsjthe same pressure. at one vend of the roll as at the other, irrespective of whether a thick sole or athin sole is. being fed, and irrespective of relative variations in thickness at the opposite edges of said sole. Such variations of thickness are transmitted to the lever 17.by

one or the other of the detectors 105. The 7 transmission lever,'by the engagement of its sector end with the sector 16, rocks the shaft 15 and thereby, through the members 21, 22, 23, 2 1; 25, 26, 29, and 31, correspondingly rotates the thickness wheel or grading die 7 6. When the sole has, been graded to its toe end,the gate 35 thereupon falls, and

through the dog 37 sets or looks the ratchet wheel 14 against further grading movement. It will be understood that meanwhile the operator has set the -size die or marking wheel '77 in accordance with the size .of the bunch of solesbeing graded at the time. .1 5. Then as the sole, in its forward movement 1 engages and lifts the gage roll 28 it thereby, through the members 50,148, 53,54;, "55, 56,- 58, 61, 62, and 63 rotates the cam lifter 65 .over to the left, Fig. 7, which permits the spring-7 instantly to lower the grade marking mechanism,- so that the marking wheels '76, 77 can give their stamping blow upon the upper side of the sole, being instantly retracted or carried back upward again by the continued rotation of said lifting cam 65,-

I and as .the later again reaches its positionshown in Fig. 7, it is brought to a'halt' by the tripping mechanism 68, 67, 66, etc. :I? he same automatic adjustment which set the grading wheel 76 also operated through the members 29, 31, 85, and '86 to shift the indicator 8 6 over the graduated plate 87 to point to that s'ole-i'ron or index figure on said plate-which corresponds to the iron to which the die-wheel 7 6 has been set. 'Ihis visual indicator. 86, '87 remains "thus set while the grading of the sole is being completed, as for instance, being skived by the skiving knife 134:, Figs. Qand' 7. And it will be understood that, as stated in connection with .myprcvious grading machines,

' end .of the sole emerges from the machine, the operator grasps it and at the same time observes the" grade mark as shown by the to be in certain particulars quite broadly novel and can therefore be carried out, withtheiggradingmeans may consist of any form of marking, even1ng,'or,1nd1cat1ng mechanism, wherebyth'e feeler' determinations of the reeler mechanism are usefully perpetuated with relation to the stock; As the heelvisual indicator, thus set, so that he may know just 'whatjbin or compartment to put the, sole into. when it escapes from' the machine. chine, the roll 28 falls and thereby, through the parts 50, d8, 41, and 42, opens the gate 35 to permit the operator to feed in another sole, the same movement unlocking the -lock* ing dog 37, from the ratchet wheel 14,. the

feeler mechanism having been previously restored by the spring 112 and the weight 9,

when permitted the stock. I I

As already explained, the general "feato do sobythe passing of tures of my machine here n claimed as my present improvements have been applied toil that form of'machine whichtis'shown and duly claimed in my before mentioned copending applications. It will also be understood that my improvements which form the subject matter of this case, are believed inthe's-pirit and .scope of certain of the claims, by a wide variety of mechanical embodiments, and that. accordingly, I am not restricted,- except as otherwise required by certain of itheclaims, to that arrangement,

. relation and combination of parts herein set forth as constituting the preferred embodimerit of my-improved machine. a

' Having described my invention,- what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters As the sole escapes fromthe ,ma-

1'. In 'a machine of the kind described, gradlng mechanism, feeler mechanism governingsaid grading mechanism for detecting the thinnest edge portion in a piece of stock being graded, and automatic position.-

ing means for controlling the position of said stockwith reference to said feeler mechanism .soasto position the said edge portions of the stock inproper relation to the feeler mechanism for said edge detection of. the stock. 2. In amach1ne of the kind described, grading mechanism, feeler mechanism gov- *erning said grading mechanism for detect-- -1ngthe thinnest edge portion in a piece of stock being graded,'.and automatic means for automatically shifting the stock edgewise to a central position. at its edges with relation to thefeeler mechanism prior to the feelingoperation.

- 3. In a machine of, the kind described,

grading mechanism, feeler mechanism governmg sa1d grading mechanism for detecting the thinnest edge portion in a piece of stock being graded, and oppositely movable guides for engaging opposite edges of the stock pivotally'mounted' for properly posi- 'tioning said edge portions of the stock with relation to the feeler mechanism.

' 5. In a' machine of the kinddescribed, grading mechan sm, feeler mechanism governing said grading mechanism for detecting the thinnest edgeportion in a piece of stock being-graded, and guides for engaging opposite edges of the stock .pivotally mounted and spring held for shifting the stock with relation to the feeler mechanism.

6. In a machine of the kind described,

grading mechanism, feeler mechanism governing sa1d gradingmechanism for detect ing the thinnest. edge portion in a piece of stock being graded, pivoted. stock-shifting guides for engaging opposite edges of the stock for properly.- positioning the stock with relation to the. feeler mechanism, and

adjustable stops for limiting the swinging movement of said guides toward each other at the forwar ends.

7. Ina machineof the kind described, grading-mechanism, feeler mechanism governing saidgra'ding' mechanism for detecting thethinnest edge. portion in a piece of stock being graded, pivoted guides for engaging opposite edges of the stock for properlypositioning that portion; of the stockwhich is to lee-detected with relation to the feeler mechanism, and means; for adjusting one of said guides for wide heeled block soles.

8. In a machine of-the .kind described,

grading mechanism, feeler mechanism gov-- .stock being graded, and stock-positioning mechanism having a portion ad uStable to the width of the wider part of said stock and another portion constructed and operating, when the stocks wider part is so engaged, to engage and direct the narrow for Ward end of said stock properly with rela tion to said feeler mechanism to insure theproper edge-detection by said feeler mechanism of said wider part. of the stock.

10. In a machine of the kind described, grading mechanism, feeler mechanism governing said grading mechanism for detecting the thinnest edge portion in a piece of stock being graded, and stock positioning mechanism, comprising opposite automatically and independently movable-guides for guiding the stock to proper edge position for said edge-detectionof the feeler mechanism, and adjusting means for adjusting said guides toward and from each other.

11. In a machine of the kind described, grading mechanism, feeler mechanism governing said grading mechanism for detecting the thinnest edge portion in a piece of stock being graded, and stock positioning mechanism, comprising independently movable guides for controlling the stock. at its opposite edges with relation to the ,feeler mechanism, yielding means for maintaining said guides under normal tendency to move toward each other, and means foradjusting said guides toward and from each other.

12. In a machine of the kind described, grading mechanism, feeler mechanism governing said grading mechanism for deteting the thinnest edge portion in a piece of stock being graded, and stock positioning mechanism, comprising independently movable guides for controlling thestock at its opposite edges with relation to the feeler mechanism, yielding means for-maintaining said guides undernormal tendency to move toward each other, adjustable stops for limiting the movement of said guides in 0pposition to said yielding means, and means for adjusting said' guides toward and from each other. I

13. In a machine of the kind described,

. grading mechanism comprising. a visualin- .dicator facing that side of the machine where the operator naturally stands when in a. position for feeding work to the machine, feeler mechanism for feeling of; the different thick and thin edge portions in a piece of stock being graded, and connections. between said feeler mechanism and said grading mechanism forsetting saidindicator to indicate the thinnest of all the edge thi'ck-.

nesses felt of, including means. operating independently of thefeeler mechanism for holding the indicator so'set for anappreciable time after the feelingoperation to enable the operator fully to observe the grade indicated by the indicator.

1a. In a machine of the kind, described,

grading mechanism comprising a-yisual .indicator facing that side of the machine where the operator naturally stands when in position for feeding work to the machine,

feeler mechanism for'detecting thethinnest edge portion in a piece of stock being graded, connections between said feeler mechanism and said grading mechanism for governing said indicator to indicate said thinnest edge detection, andautomatic stock positioning means for controlling the position of said stock with referenceto. said feeler mechanism.

15. In a. machine of the 'kind described, feeler mechanism for feelingof the-died-out piece of stock at its opposite edges and detecting the thinnest edge portion ithereof, grading mechanism comprising a visual indicator responsive to the feeler mechanism for indicating visually 'to the operator the grade determined by said feeler mechanism, and transmitting and setting mechanism for transmitting the feeler determination to said grading mechanism and holding the latter,

including said indicator, set while the stock marking means responsive to said feeler mechanism for grade marking the leather piece, stock positioning means at the ingoing endof the machine for automatically posi-' tioning theleather piece with relationto the feeler mechanism, and a visual indicator for indicating to the operator the grade of the leather piece as marked by said marking means.

17. In a machine of the kind described, means for feeding a died-out leather piece through the machine, feeler mechanism for detecting thin spots in the leather piece,

marking means responsive to said feeler mechanism for grade marking theleather piece, stock positioning means at the ingoing end of the machine for automatically positioning the leather piece with relation to the teeler mechanism, a visual indicator for visually indicating to the operator the grade of the leather piece corresponding to the said grade marking, and means for holding said indicator set while the leather piece remains in the machine.

18. In a machine of the kind described, feeler mechanism for detecting the thin spots in a leather piece to. be graded, and grading mechanism governed by said feelcr mechanism, including a plurality of markers and a visualindicator, at least one of whichis directly responsive to said feeler mechanism, and means for operating said grading mechanism, said visual indicator containing grade-marks and a part movable from one to another of said marks to point out to the operator the grade-mark of the leather piece.

19. in a machine of the kind described, feeler mechanism for detecting thin spots in a'leat-her piece, including rolls for engaging the stock on its opposite sides, at least one of said rolls having its periphery annularly cut away or hollowed out at the middle of its length so as to be ineffective for detecting purposes at said hollowed-out part, the peripheral portions at each side of the hollowed-out portion being cylindrical and parallel to the adjacent portion of the opposite roll for engaging and feeling of the stock at the opposite edges of said stock, stock-positioning. means for directing the body of the stock centrally of said hollowed-out portion and with the edges of the stock positioned to be engaged by said parallel portions at either side of the, said hollowed-out portion, grading mechanism, and means for transmitting the determinations of the feeler mechanism to" said grading mechanism.

20. In a machine of the kind described, feeler mechanism for detecting thin spots in a leather piece, including a member for engaging one side of the stock, a transmission lever, detector posts loosely connecting said member and lever, a spring mounted between said member and lever andmovable bodily therewith, and grading mechanism governed by said feeler mechanism.

21. In a machine ofthe kind described, feeler mechanism for detecting thin spots in a leather piece, including a member for engaging one side of the stock, a transmission lever, detector posts loosely connecting said member and lever, a spring mounted between said member and lever and movable bodily therewith, means operating on said intermediately placed spring and on one of the adjacent parts for adjusting the tension to the requirements of the stock, and grading mechanism governed by said feeler mechanism. i

22. In a machine of the kind described, feeler mechanism, including a lower member for engaging the under side of a piece of stock whose grade is to be determined, and pressure applying means for applying the same pressure to the opposite ends of said member, including opposite levers, each pivoted intermediate itstends, and a spring common to said two levers for maintaining them under balanced upward pressure with relation to said member.

23. In a machine of the kind described, fecler mechanism for determining the thin spots of a leather piece, including opposite members for engaging the top and bottom sides of said leather, piece, pressure levers, a spring common to said two levers for maintaining said members under constant pressure toward each other, and open bearings for removably supporting the pivots of said levers.

in a machine of the kind described, teeler mechanism for detecting the thin spots in a leatherpiece to be graded, and grading mechanism governed by said feeler mechanism, including a plurality of rotary markers, one 01" which contains thickness grade-marks and is directly responsive to said teeler mechanism, and the other of which contains width grade-marks, means for operating said grading mechanism to grade-mark the Work with said plurality of grade-marks, the latter being located to mark the same piece with the several different marks, means for permitting and facilitating the adjustment .of said widthgrade-marker step by step by hand, and means for rendering said width-grade marker inoperative when desired.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

' ELMER P. NICHOLS. Witnesses:

G120. H. MAXWELL, JAMEs R. HODDER. 

